


Changes

by ashleygrusz



Category: Brothers Conflict
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:13:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 17,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6352999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleygrusz/pseuds/ashleygrusz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kalika used to live in Japan with her parents, until their divorce. Now she has nowhere to go, and the father she hasn't seen in years comes to see her, with a surprise of his own. She will be getting 13 new step-brothers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this will be a Hikaru/OC story. I thought of this because I always wondered about how good a father Rintarou really was when he was always leaving his young daughter alone, and then this story popped into my head.
> 
> Also, I have all of my works posted on fanfiction.net and inkitt.com under the same info, so if you like those sites better, I will be updating there too.
> 
> So, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

When I was young, my parents and I lived happily in Japan, but that all changed when I was eight. My father is a man named Rintarou Hinata and he worked as an adventurer. He would go to distant places, take photos of them, and write about his experiences there. I never thought much about it when I was younger, but it was likely that his success at this job was what allowed the three of us to live in such comfort back then. My mother was a good woman and used to work as an accountant at a prestigious firm, but she quit when I was born in order to raise me.

I believed that we were happy, until I realized that I was wrong. I found out that my mother often missed my father, but allowed him to leave because she knew that he was doing what he , she didn't want me to have to travel with them to so many different places.

I believe that she would have continued to support him, if not for the fact that he came back to Japan two weeks earlier than he had said, without telling us. No, we found out that he was back, when Mom and I were coming back from grocery shopping and found him out on a date with another woman. I still don't know if this was the first time that he had cheated on Mom, or if he had been doing it for years. However, I do know the results of it.

We left Japan less than two weeks later. I suppose that Dad felt bad about lying to her or maybe he just didn't care, but he let Mom take me, and gave her the divorce and terms that she wanted without complaining. Mom used the money that she had him give her in order to buy a house in a small town in America. It wasn't large, but it was home to the two of us for years. Until, I was fifteen, when my world changed again.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up late that morning and had to run to get to school on time. Once I got there, my friend Phoebe met me at my locker. She laughed her ass off at my breathless and sweaty, post-run state. Not that I could blame her, considering the fact that I would have done the same to her, which only supports my opinion that true friends are the ones who you can laugh at honestly without having to hide it.

The two of us had met shortly after Mom and I had moved to this country. I hadn't spoken English well at the time, only understanding a few words, but I still had to go to a public school. This caused no small amount from teasing, usually from boys who would years later try to ask me out on dates. Ah, young love, isn't it beautiful?

The day that we met, a few of the boys in our class were being more cruel than usual, even going so far as to shove me while they mocked me. That is, until Phoebe ran up and kicked their leader in the balls for it. We had been inseparable ever since.

That is, outside of school. We didn't have many classes together, since I had skipped several grades, to the point that I would be graduating from high school at fifteen. Meanwhile, Phoebe, having a grasp of Japanese, was very close to failing Spanish.

However, we did have one class together, Spanish ironically enough. When I had mastered English years ago, I had become entranced by the idea of learning others, taking classes both online and in school to learn several, even being certified as a translator in some of them through finishing all eight levels of these languages and receiving one of the highest grades on the language proficiency exams that I had had to take. This allowed me to obtain a job easily, translating for some of the larger businesses in town to allow them to communicate with other branches. It was boring work, but it paid well. It would pay even better after this class though, which I had held off on learning, as I knew I'd be able to learn it for free in high school.

It was one of my favorite classes, and Phoebe constantly begged me to help her all through class. That is, until someone from the office came to class to get me.

When I got to the office, there was a cop sitting in front of the principal's desk.

That confused me. It made me worry that my family's citizenship had somehow come under question, or that I had been blamed for breaking the law somehow. However, after he opened his mouth, I wished that that HAD been the reason that he was there.

He told me that he had come to take me to the hospital where my mother was being treated after a hostage situation at her job.


	3. Chapter 3

During the ride to the hospital, I can't remember much of what happened. All I could do was try to remember how to breathe. I prayed that Mom was okay, that they had only taken her to the hospital to be careful, but that in reality her injuries were minor. In the darkest recesses of my mind, I probably knew that if that was the case I would still be in school, and when I got home, Mom would laugh as she told me what had happened. But I still clung to that tiny hope because it was my lifeline, keeping me from screaming and hating the world.

All those hopes were taken from me however, when the officer led me to the Intensive Care Unit. The walls there were made of glass and I saw her immediately. She was lying on a bed with blood drying in her hair. When I stepped into the room, I could hear the many monitors attached to her beeping, and nearly cried when I saw the many needles attached to her, shocked that she could even breathe without disrupting them.

But what struck me the most was how small she looked. My mother and I had always been short, even for those of Asian descent. However, she had never looked it. Her personality was too energetic, and she was constantly in motion, loud and not afraid of speaking her mind. But, she had finally stopped moving. Her face was as white as the hospital sheets around her, and she looked tiny and fragile, as if the slightest touch could kill her.

I was in so much shocked that I didn't even notice the doctor who had stepped into the room after me until he touched my shoulder. He told me that they had done everything they could, but that her chance of survival wasn't good. He said it was because when her company was taken hostage, she had spoken up in order to protect one of the teenaged interns and they had shot her several times as a result. He spoke more after that, maybe telling me that I should be proud of her bravery, or that she still had a chance, or maybe just trying to console me, but I didn't hear any of it, and eventually he left.

I stayed in her room without crying, just staring at her, the only member of my family that I still had being cruelly taken from me. I don't move when the nurses came in to change her medicine, or respond when they asked me if I needed them. I just sat there and stared.

Then, Phoebe came in. Later on, I would find out that the whole town knew, and she had come as soon as she had heard. I would have known myself, after all, in a small town like ours, this was great gossip.

But I didn't find out any of that until later. When she got there, she didn't say anything, simply opened her arms slightly. And that was all it took for me to fall apart and sob in her arms.

Phoebe stayed with me that night, just like I should have known that she would. As the night wore on, she stayed awake with me without complaining, her loyalty unshakeable.

And she was still awake with me at dawn, when the monitors in Mom's room went off because she had finally stopped breathing.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next day with Phoebe in my bed. She had said that I could stay at her house, but I couldn't bring myself to leave the house that the two of us had shared. She had stayed with me, probably knowing that I needed it, even though we both knew that it couldn't last forever.

But at first, I didn't know that. For a few moments after waking up, I thought that everything was okay, that the last two days had just been a bad dream. That Phoebe and I had simply had a sleepover the night before and everything was normal. That Mom would be sleeping in her room, growling about how we shouldn't wake her up, just like always. Until Phoebe woke up, and the way she looked at me told me the truth, that things would never be the same.

When she looked at me like that, as though she was helpless and desperately trying to think of something to say, a numbness entered my body. Phoebe was a person who never backed down and ALWAYS had something to say. Looking at her face, I was reminded of things that I already knew but couldn't handle at the moment. I knew that I needed to figure out where I would live, since I didn't want to bother Phoebe and her family. The only relative that I had was my father, who I hadn't seen since the divorce. I knew that things looked bad, but I couldn't focus on them through the haze that had settled upon my mind, preventing me from feeling anything.

That was all I was, unable to feel anything for fear that I would scream, cry or break my mind. Until someone rang my doorbell.

Phoebe wanted to just ignore, saying that it wasn't important. But even with my hazy mind, I knew that it would be rude, and something that Mom wouldn't want.

I slowly walked to the door, not really caring what was going on, I tried to think of what I would have to say to the people outside the door to make them leave me alone to my misery. And then, my world changed as I stared at the people outside the door, with time simultaneously going back ten years, and marching onward.


	5. Chapter 5

We had gotten out of bed some time ago, trying to be productive. Phoebe made me eat breakfast, when I felt like I would be sick if I did so, but insisting on it anyway.

After that, we had begun to sort through Mom's clothes, which I planned to donate to a charity after I set up her funeral. It hurt to see her things like that, but in a distant way, as the numbing effect my body had experienced was still in effect.

Things likely would have continued like that, if not for the fact that the doorbell rang. Phoebe went to answer the door when I insisted, but I stayed where I was, not wanting to face the pitying looks I was bound to get. In a small town like that, everyone knew in a matter of hours, and I couldn't face their sympathy, not then.

But it turned out that it wasn't a sympathetic neighbor, but someone who I had never expected to see again.

From Mom's room, I could hear Phoebe talking to a man speaking in broken English. I assumed he was one of the many Hispanic immigrants our town had become accustomed to. Until I heard him say the word Kira.

My name has always been Kalika Hinata, even after the divorce, not that many people called me that. My mother and Phoebe had always called me Chi or Chi-chan, and everyone else called me Kali.

Except for one person. My father had always called me a bright light in his life when I was younger, and so he had always called me Kira, or "light" in Japanese.

It was a name I hadn't heard in years, until now.


	6. Chapter 6

After hearing that, I slowly got up and walked behind Phoebe, just as she was about to slam the door closed.

I stopped her without a word, simply staring at the man in front of me. I thought that he hadn't changed much since I last saw him. He still had the same thick black hair and soft brown-black eyes. The same incredible height that had passed me over, leaving me the girl who just barely reached five feet.

But most of all, he had the same aura of comfort that had always made me feel safe and loved when I was younger, even as my parents went through with their divorce.

After that, it was so tempting to let Phoebe slam the door and cut him out of my life, just as he had been for the last decade.

But I knew that while Mom had been hurt by what he had done, she had never wanted me to hate him. And I knew that he had come for a reason.

What other explanation could there be. It was the first time in ten years, and it wasn't like the travel was cheap, or like he could publish about this trip like he could his others.

It was because of these thing that I stepped around Phoebe and said words that I never thought I would say again.

"Hi Otou-san."


	7. Chapter 7

He looked shocked to see me standing behind Phoebe. I thought that I couldn't blame him, that he probably hadn't expected me to look like I did.

While both of my parents were Japanese, my mother's mother had been American. While mother hadn't resembled her, I had inherited so much, I was practically her clone. I had her gentle but lush curves, her white hair that people always said looked like moonlight, and her dark blue eyes, though mine were flecked with silver.

As a result of that, Phoebe with her rich chestnut hair and dancing brown eyes, looked far more likely to be his daughter than I did.

Despite that, when my father heard me, he smiled and stepped forward as if to hug me. Ironically, it was that gesture that made the numbness that had plagued me begin to recede, and as I stepped back, I began to feel again. And so I said, "What are you doing here?"

He sighed, "I'd prefer not to talk about this outside. Would it be okay if we came inside?"

He spoke to me in Japanese, rather than the horrid English he had with Phoebe. I still remembered that Mom had always teased him about being a constant traveler, but being terrible with languages.

Despite that, I wondered if he had devolved to the point that he couldn't even speak Japanese properly. That is, until I looked behind him and saw the two men. There appearance surprised even Phoebe, letting me know that I wasn't the only one who hadn't noticed them until then. Surprising, given how gorgeous the two of them were.

They were both tall. The first man had messy brown hair and kind eyes, giving off the impression of a gentle father figure. The second man however, had golden hair and eyes, and exuded the aura of a playboy, almost like he would flirt with any woman who moved.

Their appearance shocked both of us, but it was Phoebe who spoke first.

"Who the hell are they?"

My father looked surprised as well, hearing Phoebe speak in Japanese. She still had an accent, but the fact that she spoke so fluently was uncommon. Actually, it was a result of our friendship. Even after we moved here, Mom and I still spoke Japanese at home, and when Phoebe came over, she listened to us. As a result, we both attained the ability to speak the language fluently, though Phoebe only used Japanese when we were saying things we didn't want others hearing, or, apparently, when her best friend's absentee father suddenly shows up on her doorstep.

Despite his surprise, my father still spoke calmly, saying, "They are part of what I wanted to discuss with you. May we come in?"

I could tell that Phoebe wanted to protest, but I just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, so I invited them all into the kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

Once they came inside, I offered them tea, which they accepted. After it was made, the five of us just sat at the kitchen table staring at each other. This continued for almost ten minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. Normally I preferred the quiet, but now that I could finally feel again, the whole scene seemed so surreal that I couldn't quite believe that it was happening. After all, I had just lost one parent, and then another suddenly showed up.

"You said that you wanted to talk, so talk. Who are these guys? Why are they, and you, here?"

Father finally spoke, introducing the brunette as Masaomi and the blonde as Kaname. I accepted that, until he told me that they were my brothers.

I knew that I hadn't seen him in years, but the two men had to be at least in their late twenties, and I was sure I'd remember having two older brothers. So I called bullshit on him.

My father looked surprised to see me swear like that, but he continued to explain, "These men are your stepbrothers. I will be marrying their mother, a woman named Miwa Asahina, in a few months. She would like to meet you and I hoped that you would be willing to attend our wedding."

I think he may have wanted to continue speaking after that, but I wouldn't, couldn't, let him. Not with the fury suddenly coursing through my veins.

"You bastard! You came here to get me to join your little family and impress your new wife. You know, I thought that you were okay, but now at least I know the truth. We haven't even had a chance to bury Mom, and you're already trying to use her death to your own advantage?! Get the hell out of my house!"

After my outburst, he kept trying to talk. If I hadn't been so furious, I might have noticed the shock on the faces of the three men, but at the time I was too angry to focus. Or to listen to him.

Phoebe helped me get them out of the house, and she held me as I cried. It seemed silly, even to me, but I had expected my first meeting with my father in years to go much better than that. Maybe have him tell me that he loved me, not that I was something he could use.

But, even as I thought that, I swore to myself that I would go into foster care before I lived with a man who would use the death of someone I loved for his own benefit.


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days were quiet. Phoebe and I managed to pack up all of Mom's clothes, and I had the newspapers publish an obituary for her stating the date and time for the funeral I had set up for her a week from now.

Things hadn't gone back to normal, and I was still hurting from the loss of my mother. But I began to function again, eating, taking showers, keeping myself alive.

All the while, I didn't think I'd ever be able to think of Mom without hurting, but I began to learn to live with it.

Then, I went to the grocery store to get food. It was a completely normal trip, until I began to walk to my car. the driving age was sixteen, but in this town, people knew that I was responsible so they let my illegal driving slide.

As I was putting my groceries in the trunk, I heard a man call out. I turned on instinct despite not recognizing the voice, and came face-to-face with the blonde man who had been in my kitchen not so long ago. Kaname, I remembered.

Needless to say, I wasn't happy to see him, and he seemed to sense that. He approached me cautiously and asked me if we could talk because he had "some things to ask me about". I didn't want to, but I also didn't want to make a scene; I was already getting enough pity, so I agreed on the condition that I would drive us.

But I thought that no matter what happened, my decisions wouldn't change. And that just proves that I can't see the future.


	10. Chapter 10

I drove the two of us to a park on the other side of town, figuring that in the summer-like heat, we would have enough privacy that we could talk uninterrupted, but still have enough people around that he couldn't kidnap me or anything like that.

On the drive over, Kaname-san sat quietly in the passenger seat, waiting for us to arrive. Even though I didn't want to, I wondered what he was thinking about.

Once we arrived, we sat at the table silently for several minutes. Until Kaname-san reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of newspaper. When he showed it to me, I recognized it as Mom's obituary.

"We found this in the newspaper yesterday. You may not believe me, but we were all genuinely shocked, including Rintarou-san."

"Yeah, because coming over three days after her death with a proposition that I would only accept if she were dead is a total coincidence." Surprisingly, my sarcasm didn't seem to faze him. If anything, it amused him, based on the small smile that appeared on his face. Sadly, seeing that smile made me appreciate once again how handsome he was.

"When Rintarou-san told us that he had a daughter, my entire family wanted to meet you and offer you a place among us. The only one who was uncertain about this was your father. He said that after all this time had passed, you and your mother must hate him.

"However, after a few days, he gave into that desire. Masa-nii and I came with him because we wanted you to know that we accepted you, and to see what you were like.

"When we arrived at your house, we had just gotten off of our plane. We stopped at a hotel to leave our luggage in case things didn't go well, or your mother was anxious at having strange men in the same house as her teenage daughter.

"After that, we googled her name to get the exact address and took a rental car to your home.

"Once we got there, we noticed that something seemed strange, especially when your friend opened the door and you appeared to have been crying. However, we didn't know the reason for this until you began to shout at us."

To that, I replied, "You expect me to believe that?"

"You don't understand imouto-chan, I work as a monk. I am very good at reading people, and I could tell when I met you that you didn't hate Rintarou-san. Even now, you still don't even though you're angry with him. That's why I'm asking you to think back. When you told us that your mother was dead, did we really look like we didn't know? Did we act so callous that you would think that of us?"

"What am I supposed to think? It was the first time meeting any of you in years, or ever. I don't know you."

After that, I was quiet for a moment, and then said in a small, quiet voice, "But you did look shocked when I told you."

"We were. After we left, the three of us went back to our hotel confused, but we didn't want to leave without trying to understand you. Then, yesterday, we received a local newspaper with your mother's obituary in it.

"As I said, we were all surprised, but it explained a lot about your reaction. Masa-nii and I were actually planning to visit you later to explain, but when I saw you I thought that it might be a good idea to talk sooner."

After this, he took my hand and said, "Imouto-chan, I understand that you don't really know any of us, but we are family, and we want to help you. Please, give us one last chance to get to know each other before you completely disregard us."

Looking at his earnest face, I thought that there was a chance that I could trust him, and agreed, on the condition that we met at their hotel, since I didn't want them in the house just yet.

He agreed and we made plans to meet for dinner that night.


	11. Chapter 11

When I finally got back home, Phoebe was waiting for me. When I told her what had happened, she said that it was possible, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea for me to go by myself.

I felt the same way, but I wanted to give them a fair chance, and going with her probably wouldn't make it seem that way. So I made her promise to stay home, but I would call her when I got home and we would talk.

Kaname-san probably had no idea that he had dodged a bullet by asking to meet me today. Phoebe's mother's birthday was today and she had to go home. Otherwise, I probably would have had to let her come with me, knowing how stubborn she was. And she wouldn't let them off the hook so easily.

After she left, I began to bake. Kaname-san had told me that I just had to show up and they would provide the food, but my mother had raised me to be polite to everyone, no matter what issues I may have with them. So I baked a blackberry cobbler and put it in a plastic container for transport. However, I knew that with just the four of us, there was no way we'd finish it all, but I thought it would make a nice make-up present.

After that, I went to my room to get ready. I found a dress that Mom had bought me a few months ago, but which I hadn't worn yet. It was a midnight blue that looked black without light directly shining on it, but flecked with bits of lighter bluish white threads, that made it look like the night sky. It was low cut and ended above my knee, but it was comfortable and sort of casual. I thought it was as good an outfit as any to meet with family.

Finally, the time to leave had come, so I called Phoebe to let her know, grabbed my keys and the cobbler and left.


	12. Chapter 12

I drove to the hotel that Kaname-san had told me we were staying at and let the valet take my car.

I walked in unsure of how to get to their room, which Kaname-san hadn't told me the number of, but was spared the trouble when a familiar brunette waved at me.

Masaomi-san was standing in the lobby, and I realized belatedly that he had been waiting for me to arrive.

"Hello Kalika-san."

"Hello Masaomi-san, I'm sorry if I'm late. And you can just call me Kali everyone does."

"If you say so. Anyway, I was waiting to show you to our suite."

I was surprised, so I asked, "You got a suite for just the three of you? Wouldn't it have been cheaper to just rent three rooms?"

He laughed. "I see that Kaname hasn't told you yet. But it isn't just the three of us. Rintarou-san, Kaname and I came to see you, but several of our siblings were also eager to meet you. We had them wait here for the first meeting."

"Oh. So how many siblings do you have?"

"There are thirteen of us in total."

I couldn't believe it. Thirteen children! My shock must have shown on my face because Masaomi-san laughed when he saw it, though he tried to hide it.

"Yes, I know that it is a little unbelievable. But Mother always did want a large family. I should also warn you that Mother only had sons, and she is currently still in Japan. She wanted to come but had too much work. Anyway, I'm sure that everyone will be happy to meet you."

"Wow. So, where do you go on the family totem pole?"

He laughed and replied, "I'm the eldest son, and am thirty-two years old, if you'd like to know."

It was strange, just a few days ago, I was yelling at him, but now, talking to him, I felt so relaxed. Of course, that didn't last long. As we arrived at the suite, butterflies arrived in my stomach making me feel like I might puke.

Masaomi-san may have noticed this as he smiled at me reassuringly and opened the door leading to his family.


	13. Chapter 13

As soon as I stepped inside, a pair of arms wrapped around me. The culprit squeezed me tightly and said, "It's a nice to meet you hug."

Still trying to come to terms with the sudden embrace, I was even more surprised, when I was suddenly released as my welcomer fell to the floor. Standing behind him was a man with black hair and beautiful amethyst eyes hidden behind glasses who had obviously just punched the other man. I was so surprised that I just stared at him until he spoke.

"I'm sorry about Tsubaki, he can be a handful. I'm Asuza, it's nice to meet you."

Robotically, I said, "I'm Kalika, but you can just call me Kali. Nice to meet you too."

As soon as I finished speaking, my original welcomer stood up complaining about the punch, but even so he smiled and slung an arm around his attacker, saying, "We look similar, right? Asuza and I are identical twins."

Looking at them it made sense, because, while Tsubaki-san had dyed his hair white and didn't wear glasses, they had the same eyes and similar faces. However, it looked like Tsubaki-san really was a handful based off the mischievous smile on his face. Based on the earlier show, I'm betting that Asuza-san had to keep him in line.

After we had greeted each other, another man came in, telling Tsubaki and Asuza that they were being too loud. He was even taller than the others, making me feel even more like a midget than I always did. Actually, it was kind of strange, normally Asians are short, but every brother I had met so far was pretty tall.

Also, looking at this new man, who had blond hair and serious blue eyes covered by glasses, I could tell that he wasn't completely Asian, if at all, but Masaomi-san looked Japanese. _Maybe one of their parents was a foreigner._

As I was thinking this, the new man stated, "Hello, I am the second son, Ukyo. It is nice to meet you, and I see that you have already met the sixth and seventh sons."

I returned his greetings with my head spinning. However, despite this, I thought _Asuza's and Tsubaki's voices sound familiar. I wonder where I could have heard them before._

Soon after thinking this, I got my answer as Masaomi-san told me that the two of them worked as voice actors for animes.

Ukyo-san said, "I'm glad that you came, but I'm afraid that your father and Kaname aren't here at the moment. They went to get some things for dessert."

As soon as he said that, I realized that I was still holding the cobbler, and gave it to him. He looked surprised but accepted it, saying that it wasn't necessary.

Actually, they all looked surprised, but I guess it makes sense, after all they had probably heard about my screaming at their brothers and hadn't expected me to have any manners.

_I'm gonna have to work on fixing that. Oh well, at least now I've met enough of them that I'm not a complete stranger, and since it seems like no one else is coming out of the woodwork, it looks like I've met all the people who are here tonight._

_But still, it's five down, and eight to go. Hope I survive that experience with at least a little grace. Yeah right, looking at how this part of my life has been going so far, it doesn't seem like that is gonna happen._

_Oh well, hope springs eternal, I suppose._


	14. Chapter 14

After the introductions were over, Tsubaki-san and Asuza-san led me to the living room area of the suite and began to talk. It was just the small talk reserved to family reunions, but it was far better than the shouting that had erupted at my last family reunion. Meanwhile, Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san were in the kitchenette discussing something.

After a while, someone knocked on the door. When Ukyo-san went to answer it, Kaname-san walked in with a little boy holding his hand. He looked surprised to see me but still kissed my hand when he saw me.

Then he said, "Good to see you again imouto-chan. That dress looks great."

I think he would have continued with his somewhat flirtatious speech - _he definitely acts more like a playboy than a monk_ \- when the boy next to him jumped in front of me.

He had salmon-colored hair and soft brown eyes. For a moment, I thought he might be Masaomi-san's son based on their looks and ages. But then he said, "Hi Onee-chan. I'm the youngest son Wataru. Let's play together lots."

The others looked surprised and ready to scold him, but his cute little smile melted my heart. I'd always had a soft spot for little kids, and had even considered working as a kindergarten teacher when I graduated.

Before he could be reprimanded, I knelt down to his height - quite a rarity for me - and said, "Hello there Wataru. I only came over for dinner tonight, but how about some other day, the two of us go to a park nearby."

As I said this, I looked towards Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san for approval. They looked surprised, which made me wonder just how bad they thought I would be, but they didn't seem to dislike my suggestion.

Of course, after that I had to ask, "Kaname-san, where did you go? And weren't you supposed to be with my father?"

"Oh, sorry about that imouto-chan, but Rintarou-san was called away on work, and won't be able to see you tonight. Also, 'Kaname-san' is so formal, just call me Onii-chan."

After that, I was relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with him just yet. And confused on whether Kaname-san was flirting with intent or wanted me as a sister.


	15. Chapter 15

After the initial introductions were finished, all of us sat down to eat our dinner. It felt strange to be eating with so many strangers, but at the same time, it comforted me. Ever since Mom had died, Phoebe had stayed with me. However, while I loved her, she was constantly concerned about me, and her constant presence just made me feel the lack of my mother's even more.

The two of us had always hung out, but when we were at my house, Mom would often be relaxing or even coming into talk to us. She talked with us about boys and movies and all the other stupid topics that we came up with. I can still remember one time when Phoebe and I had been talking about this jerk who had told our entire school that the two of us had had sex.

_We were in my room. Phoebe was laying on my bed, reading my most recent bit of poetry. I was sitting at my computer chair waiting to see how she would react to it._

_Then, she shocked me by saying, "Hey, you know that Nick Taylor said that the two of you had sex last week."_

_Needless to say, that statement nearly made me fall out of chair. I couldn't believe and choked out "WHAT?!"_

_Phoebe looked at me and said, "According to him, you came to him after the basketball game and begged him to have sex with you. He said you were so desperate that you nearly ripped off his clothes, and that he had gone along with it as a favor to you, since you looked so pathetic."_

_After hearing that I was outraged and screamed that I was going to kill him. Unfortunately for me, it turned out that I had started to scream just as Mom got home and she came up to find out what had happened._

" _Kali, why are you so angry? You know that such language isn't ladylike."_

_Seeing no way out of it, Phoebe told her the entire story. What neither of us expected was for her to swear such a streak that she could have made a trucker blush._

_After she had finally gotten over it, she said, "Now there's a boy who needs to be taken down a few pegs."_

_Hearing that, I became hopeful that she would forget about my little outburst in light of the new information and her own outburst. Instead, she did one better and followed up by saying, "You know, you could teach him a thing or two. Talk to his ex-girlfriends and find out all his dirty little secrets. Having the entire school find out about all his fetishes is bound to take the wind out of his sails."_

_Phoebe and I were both shocked, but laughed at the idea. After that, Mom stayed with me and Phoebe, and the three of us talked for hours about nothing._

_The next day, Phoebe and I started digging into that jackass's past._

Mom had always been my parent, but she had also been my friend. She had always been there to talk to and help scheme ways to get back at people for slighting me.

Now that she was gone, Phoebe's presence both helped me, and made me remember all those fun times that would never happen again.

Compared to that, eating dinner with my new brothers was easy. There was no history to be brought up between us and the conversation stayed light. I didn't forget about Mom, but I also wasn't reminded of her.

That was probably the time that I began to think that living with those people could be a good idea.

Eventually, we ran out of things to talk to without letting the mood become serious. This was a good thing though, because Wataru started to yawn. He insisted that he wasn't tired and wouldn't sleep. "Onee-chan is here, I don't want to go to bed."

I remembered our earlier promise and said, "Wataru, I need to go home soon. But, if your brothers don't have plans. maybe we can go to a part tomorrow."

This excited Wataru, though I was worried about whether it would be a bother to them. Turned out it was the opposite. Masaomi-san smiled at me, and Ukyo-san said that he would pack a lunch for us to eat.

We agreed that I would meet them at the hotel the next day since they didn't know how to get to the park. They told me to come at eight and we would eat breakfast together before leaving.


	16. Chapter 16

Once I got home, I texted Phoebe, mostly because I knew that she wouldn't be able to stand not knowing what was going on for much longer. I could either tell her what had happened at dinner or I could be the one responsible for her head exploding.

When I told her that I was back home, she told me that she would be there in five minutes. True to her word, she arrived at my house five minutes later with a box of chocolate candy bars that were meant to be handed out on Halloween.

"Your mother is going to kill you when she finds out that you took those."

"Eh, it's not a big deal. Halloween isn't until next week and it's been so hot lately that I doubt she'll even notice that some Halloween candy is missing."

"You're right about one thing. It's fall but it still feels like summer. Oh well, at least we'll be able to see all the kids' costumes on Halloween instead of their jackets like we have in the past."

"Yeah, which reminds me, do you mind if I pass candy out at your house again this year."

"Why do you even bother asking? You always do it every year anyway."

"You know what my mother is like. She always goes so far for Halloween and everything has to be perfect. You don't care though, which means that I can relax."

"And eat all of the candy that is supposed to be for the kids. Actually that reminds me. One of the brothers, Wataru-chan looks like he might enjoy trick-or-treating. O wonder if they'll still be around for Halloween."

"If he is, that'll be great for us. We can take him and get candy from all the houses that he goes to. Ah, now that sounds like heaven." Phoebe had a happy grin on her face as she said this.

An hour later, the candy bars were gone and I decided that I should tell Phoebe about my plans for tomorrow.

"You know, I told Wataru-chan that I would take him to the park tomorrow."

Unsurprisingly, Phoebe wasn't exactly happy that I would be spending more time with the Asahinas. "You know, they say that they didn't know that your mom died, but are you sure that it was the truth."

"I'm not, but Mom always told me that it is easier to believe the worst in people than the best. That's why she always wanted me to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure if they deserve it, but I think the least that I can do for Mom is to live by her words, especially considering all that she gave up to raise me."

My words struck something in Phoebe and she relented. As she walked out the door though, she told me, "You might trust them, but I still want to meet them. I don't want to see you get hurt."

After that, she left, and I was all alone in the house that Mom and I had shared.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning, I woke up early. Ukyo-san and Masaomi-san were kind, but I didn't want to take advantage of them or leave them surprised about what they might find at the park. While I had lived in Japan for the first part of my life, my memories had faded over time, and I could barely remember some aspects of my life there, while other parts came to me with such crystal-clear focus that it felt like I had lived there just yesterday.

So, after I had woken up, I started cooking. Ukyo-san had said that he would make me breakfast but I figured that we might end up eating lunch at the park, so I wanted to bring at least a little bit of the food for us.

By 7:30, I had prepared potato salad, fried chicken, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tiramisu, and some more traditional Japanese dishes like california rolls, croquettes and dango. I packed them all in a large container and drove over to the Asahinas' hotel.


	18. Chapter 18

I got stuck in the morning traffic as people rushed to work, so I was late getting to the hotel. Once I got there, I left the food in my trunk, since I assumed that it wouldn't take long to eat and I had put ice into the container.

I rushed up to the room, but was surprised that as soon as I knocked on the door, as pair of arms wrapped around me.

_Who on earth is this? Why are they hugging me?_

Eventually, I managed to shake off my attacker to find that Tsubaki-san had been the one to hug me. I was about to crack a joke about his terrible greeting habits when I saw the looks on the rest of the brothers' faces. With the exception of Wataru-chan, all of them looked pale and worried.

Rather than the joke that I had planned on, the words that came out of my mouth were, "What happened? Is something wrong?"

"We were expecting you an hour ago! We were worried that something had happened to you!"

"Sorry, there was more traffic than I was expecting on my way over here. I was going to call you, but I don't have any of your phone numbers."

My explanation seemed to calm them all down, and suddenly I felt another pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"Onee-chan, we're still going to be able to play today, right?"

Wataru-chan asked this with the cutest little expression on his face:puppy dog eyes all full of hope. Phoebe was right, I really was a sucker for little kids.

"Of course we can" Masaomi-san assured him, and I quickly agreed.

After Wataru-chan had let go of me Ukyo-san came up to me and apologized. "I'm afraid that none of us are used to having a younger sister and we were worried that after last night, you might have decided to go back to your ordinary life without us. After that fear was somewhat allayed by Kaname, we saw on the news that their had been an accident on the highway and were worried you may have been involved in it."

"It's okay. I really was going to call you to let you know that I was on my way over, but I never got any of your phone numbers."

"Then we will have to fix that." With those words, Ukyo-san took my cell and entered in his number, before passing it to the rest of his brothers so that they could fill in their own contact numbers.

"Well, now that that matter is settled, why don't we eat breakfast."


	19. Chapter 19

After we had all exchanged phone numbers, breakfast went along smoothly. Once we had finished, I offered to help with the clean up but Ukyo-san just waved me away and said not to worry about it.

Then, I got my biggest shock of the day when Tsubaki-san and Asuza-san said that they would be leaving for work soon.

_I thought that they all lived in Japan. Do they work for some international company? But those two look too young to be working for a big company like that? Are they moving here?_

Upon seeing my confused expression, Tsubaki-san laughed, until Asuza-san hit him and Masaomi-san took pity on me to tell me that the two of them worked as voice actors and so they would be recording their pieces for an anime at a studio in the city.

After that little shock, Kaname-san said that he would relax at the hotel while Masaomi-san, Ukyo-san, Wataru-chan and I left for the park. Masaomi-san drove all of us with me giving him directions.

Once we got there, I played with Wataru-chan for a few hours while Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san seemed to just relax at a picnic table and enjoy the sunlight. When lunch came around, I got out the food I had packed.

"Are any of you allergic to any foods?"

"No, but you didn't have to bring anything for us", Masaomi-san told me with a smile.

"No, it's alright. I enjoy cooking, so I really liked being able to prepare food for so many people", I replied with a mumble.

After that, Wataru-chan quickly claimed my attention again, and began to speak about how we should play together again soon.

Hearing this, Ukyo-san asked if I would like to do something with all of the attending brothers this Saturday, since they hadn't been able to go out much. He admitted that few of the brothers had very good English language skills and that my presence would be helpful.

I almost said yes, until I remembered. Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san looked worried once they saw the shadow appear on my face, so I knew that I had to tell them.

"Mom's funeral is this Saturday."

At my words, the two of them looked sad and tried to apologize, but I just waved my hand at them and said, "It's not your fault. Kaname-san already told me that you didn't know that she had died when you came to see me. Actually, that reminds me, I never apologized to you Masaomi-san for how I treated you when you came to my house. I'm sorry that I was so rude."

"No, not at all. Anyone would have reacted that way in a situation like that. I'm just glad that you believed us when we say that we had no idea about your loss."

"That being said, would you mind it terribly if we attended her funeral as well. We may not have known your mother, but it is obvious to me that she raised a wonderful daughter, and we would like her to know that we will take excellent care of you in her place", Ukyo-san interjected, obviously having picked up on my sense of unease about the funeral.

I didn't have any doubts about how we were holding the funeral, but I was worried about how the other people attending would act. Phoebe would be herself, of course, and I knew that she would support me through it all, but a few of Mom's friends had come over to the house after she died, and they had said all the right words. But at the same time, they had been a mixture of uneasy and pitying. It was almost as though, they felt bad that I had nowhere to go and it could ruin my future, while at the same time, they didn't want me asking them for any favors.

The Asahinas' presence would at least offset some of those concerns, as I would have a place to stay, and would hopefully extinguish most of their pity.

_Huh, that's strange. Here I thought that I still didn't want to live with them. But now, the idea of it feels so comfortable. Maybe it's because of their caring and honest personalities, or maybe it's because Ukyo-san seems to feel as though it's obvious that I would stay with them, or maybe it's even because I'm desperate to have a legitimate family. Phoebe had always been like family to me, but after my father's marriage, we would be legally related. Either way, I don't mind the idea. I just hope that I won't be a bother to them if it does end up turning out like that._

After our conversation, Ukyo-san told me that they had to get back to the hotel soon for their brothers and invited me to have dinner with them. I turned them down, not wanting to bother them, and also wanting some time to myself to deal with this new revelation and the feelings that went with it. But I did agree to go to their hotel the next day around noon, since I knew that Phoebe would be celebrating her grandmother's birthday the next day, Thursday.


	20. Chapter 20

Once I got home, I took a shower to wash off the sweat that I had accumulated while playing with Wataru-chan. For such a young kid, he sure did put me through the ringer. I was on the track and swim teams and I hadn't been able to keep up with him easily. Well, I suppose that's that childish energy that people are always talking about.

That was my excuse for taking a shower anyway, but in my heart, I knew the real reason. Ever since Mom's death, I had been avoiding looking at my real feelings, afraid that if I looked at them too deeply, my heart really would break. So I climbed into the shower to try to put it off.

Eventually though, I had to get out of the shower. Briefly, I considered calling Phoebe and having her help me, but sometimes, there are things that you need to do alone, because emotions are things which can't be untangled by others. Heartbreak is an excellent example of this, in my mind. Of course, people who care about you can help you to get over heartbreak, but they can only heal those emotions if you let them do so first. Without your own initiative, it is impossible for feelings to be changed. Whatever people say about falling in love against their will is crap. If they really hated the person, they wouldn't love them so easily. They just don't want to admit those feelings to themselves, but deep inside, they had to be open to that person, or their feelings for them could never change.

With that thought in mind, I gathered all the resolve I had and stepped into Mom's room. I hadn't been in there since Phoebe and I had started to pack her things. After that day, I had told her that it could wait. I couldn't hide my feelings over both Mom's death and suddenly gaining a new family inside at the same time. So I had avoided them. But if I wanted to move on and stand tall with the people who were willing to care about me, both those who I had known and those that I had just met, then I needed to face those feelings. Now.


	21. Chapter 21

I walked into Mom's room and closed the door behind me, not wanting anyone to be able to see me as I either crumbled under my emotions or used them to become stronger. After that, I slowly looked around. Truthfully, before the Asahinas and Otou-san had interrupted us, Phoebe and I had only had time to put boxes around the room and come up with a plan of how to pack everything. After that, I had had Phoebe remove those boxes for this very moment, so that I would be able to look at Mom's room in the exact way in which she had kept it while I faced her loss.

_Mom's gone. There's nothing I can do for her now except live like she wanted me to._

_What did she want for me? What a stupid question. Mom answered that question for me plenty of times while she was still alive. She wanted me to do whatever the hell I wanted to make myself happy, no matter what people said. She wanted me to do whatever it took to achieve real happiness, no matter how many people laughed or scorned me or her for it. She didn't want me to be afraid of anything other people did because she knew that it would just get in my way._

_Okay, now that I know that, what do I want? Really? I know that I want Mom back, but that isn't going to happen. So what do I want to do now that she's gone? Do I want to stay here? I might be able to get emancipated, and with my job, I should be able to get by just fine. But do I want that?_

_No, I would have to live in this house alone. I couldn't stand that. Even now, it's difficult to see this house empty. To not be able to cook for anyone else. After all, isn't that why I loved cooking so much? To be able to see the smile on Mom's face as she came home and found warm food waiting for her. I still love cooking for others, but I wouldn't be able to stay in this house without a family to cook for._

_Okay, so what about living with Phoebe until graduation? Her parents have already said that they wouldn't mind, and our families have always been so close that it wouldn't feel too strange to stay with them._

_But then, I'd still have to deal with the pity of everyone in town, be the girl who lost her mother and had to rely on her friend's charity. Even worse, I'd still be able to see this house every day and I would know that it is empty. And I'd be reminded every day that Mom is gone. No, I can't do that._

_But then, the only option left is to live with Otou-san and the Asahinas. Can I do that? Earlier in the park, the idea didn't seem so bad. But could I really do it? I'd be living with many strange people, and I wouldn't be able to see Phoebe everyday anymore. The Asahinas have been kind so far, and I think that I could learn to love them as my family. I think I need that. I know that no one will be able to replace Mom, but I need someone to call family, and to have proof of that. I think that they could give me that, eventually._

_But, I'd also have to go to Japan. I used to live there, but it's been so many years now. Could I adjust back to that lifestyle?_

_I think I could. After all, Mom might have lived in America even before she moved to Japan for Otou-san, but after we moved back, she still kept many Japanese customs present at home._

_But once I got there, I wouldn't see Phoebe anymore. She's been my closest friend for years and I'd miss her terribly. But we'd still be able to keep in touch, wouldn't we? And we could visit each other when we got older. It could work. But for that to happen, there is one big thing that would need to change._

_Otou-san,_

_After the divorce, I didn't think about him much. After all, he didn't stay in touch, so after a while, I pretty much forgot about him. But if I live with him, I will have to forgive him._

_For everything._

_The divorce wasn't my fault, but it still affected me. I lost my father for years. Can I forget how lonely that made me feel? Can I forgive him for not doing all the things that a father should do with his daughter? I don't know._

_But am I willing to. Mom did. I don't know how, but whenever I asked her, she would always tell me that Otou-san was a human just like all of us. He shouldn't be judged just based on a single flaw._

_Looking at it like that, I can still remember how Otou-san had been a good father. When he was home, he would always play with me. Tell me stories. Tuck me in._

_He was a good father. Maybe I should focus on that, instead of the divorce. I think I might be able to, but what about Miwa-san._

_She's the woman that Otou-san is marrying. Surely, if I moved to Japan, I would end up living with her._

_Would she replace Mom? No, that would be impossible. But would she try to? And did I want her to?_

_No, I didn't want to forget Mom and I knew that I never would be able to, so I wouldn't try. But could I handle suddenly having another mother?_

_I haven't even met her yet. But Ukyo-san said that my mom shaped me. So if I look at it that way, shouldn't Miwa-san have to be a good person to raise such excellent sons?_

_Would I be able to accept that? I'm still not sure, but I think I can live with it, just like I can live with Otou-san again._

_So it's decided. If at all possible, I will try to live with Otou-san in Japan again. That shouldn't be hard. Ukyo-san seems to assume that it will happen anyway._

_But what about this house? I can't live in it now, but what will I do with it? I know that it belongs to me now. I don't want to sell it. That would be like giving away a piece of my life with Mom here. And if I rented it out, it would be the same way. I would lose some of the memories that we shared._

_Could I live here again one day? I know that the wound is still too fresh for it now, but maybe I would be able to later. With a family of my own. Raising children just like how I was raised. I kind of like that idea. The idea of adding new family memories to this house which already holds so many memories of Mom and me._

After my time spent reflecting on my feelings, my cell phone rang. I looked for it with blurry eyes. I hadn't realized it, but while I was thinking, I had begun to cry for Mom, for my changing life, for fear of what would happen.

When I found my phone, I saw that it was Masaomi-san. He had called to tell me not to bring any food with me tomorrow, that everything would be handled by the brothers. But when he asked me if I was okay, for the first time in days, I could honestly say that I was.

It wasn't perfect. There were still so many things that I wasn't sure about. I would still miss Mom for so long. But after today, I knew that I would be able to wake up with a smile on my face and step forward into my new life without being afraid of what anyone else thought of me, just like Mom had always wanted.


	22. Chapter 22

The day after I finally confronted my feelings, my heart felt lighter. I still missed Mom, but it wasn't as painful. And so I decided that I wouldn't let that be the only change.

Since I had met the Asahinas and we had sorted out our first encounter as a mistake, I had been friendly towards them, but I had still held back. But, if I was going to live with them, then that had to stop.

When I saw them today, I was going to be open with them. Sure, I wasn't going to tell them my whole life story, but I was willing to let them know about my life, and I hoped that they would still be willing to tell me about their lives as well.

With this thought in mind, I prepared to leave, though it still felt strange to me to be going to someone else's place to eat and not bring anything with me.

When I got to the hotel, I could tell that some people had left because, for once, I was able to park my car myself, rather than paying a valet to find a parking space for me. This didn't really surprise me. In a small community like this, teenagers tended to take things like Halloween seriously, and that meant that at least one person's home would be egged, or worse. Can't blame people for not wanting to hang around for that.

Once I got to the hotel, I hurried up to their suite. Who'd have thought that that summer heat that wouldn't give us a break would suddenly up and leave overnight?

But when I knocked on the door, all thoughts of the cold escaped me. Rather than the friendly faces of the brothers I knew, I was greeted by a giant with black hair. Seriously, this guy had to be pushing six feet and his piercing grey eyes just seemed to keep glaring at me, as though I had done something wrong by trying to visit my soon-to-be stepbrothers who had invited me over. What the hell?

Before I had the chance to ask any questions, I heard Kaname-san's flirtatious voice, "Suba-chan, is that our lovely imouto-chan you're staring at over there?"

At this, he seemed surprised, but he let me pass through the door. _He's sure no Mr. Congeniality. But still, who is he?_

As this thought crossed my mind, I remembered that Masaomi-san had said that their were thirteen Asahina siblings. _Wait, so he's supposed to be my brother? Not really sure how I'm going to be able to handle seeing someone glaring at me 24/7._

Despite my concerned thoughts, when Masaomi-san came out to greet me, I still smiled. He had a really comforting personality. "Kali-san, I'm glad that you could make it, and that you didn't bring any more food with you. Ah, it's delicious, but grown men shouldn't have their guests bringing them food, especially their younger sister." This last sentence was said after he saw the probably concerned look on my face.

After he finished, Kaname-san walked up behind him and gave me a hug. While doing so, he told his brother over my head, "She's probably a little more concerned with the strange man that she just met at the door. Aren't you imouto-chan?"

"Ah yes, I was wondering if he is possibly one of your brothers?"

"I'm sorry about that, but the reason that we left you so quickly yesterday was because several of our brothers were able to get time off from work and school in order to come here for a little visit", Masaomi-san explained. "The one who opened the door is the ninth son, Subaru."

"Hello Subaru-san, it's nice to meet you."

While, I said this with the hope of getting him to open up and maybe start a conversation, he simply nodded at me. At least his glare seemed to soften to more of a piercing stare.

Seeing that I wouldn't get any more than that from him today, I turned to Masaomi-san and asked, "So are the rest of your brothers here now too?"

"No, several are still in Japan due to their work and schooling, but several of them were able to come to meet you."

After this, he began to lead me to the living room, which gave me the perfect excuse to escape from Kaname-san, who had been hugging me the entire time.

Once there, I saw two other men that I didn't know talking with Ukyo-san and a gorgeous woman. They were all tall. The younger looking man had slightly long grey hair and reserved golden eyes, though he still smiled gently when he saw me. The other man had a feminine presentation, with long light ash brown hair pulled into a side ponytail and mauve eyes that seemed to be both distracted and welcoming. Finally, the woman had long long orange hair and green eyes.

Noticing my curiosity, Ukyo-san quickly introduced us. "Kali-san, these people are Hikaru," the woman "Louis," the brunette "and Iori" the grey-haired one.

Quickly, Hikaru-san walked up to me and gave me a hug. "So you're the girl I've been hearing so much about. It's a pleasure to meet you imouto-san, but I wish that it was at a better time."

I managed to get out something to the effect that it was okay, but something was bothering me. _Hikaru-san looks like a beautiful woman, but something about her seems off. She's gorgeous, but the way that holds herself seems kind of masculine. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the way that she's standing or how she moves, but she doesn't seem like a normal woman. Also, her chest is pretty flat. I mean, I know that some girls don't have much in that department, but put together, I can't help but wonder if Hikaru-san is really a woman at all._

Oblivious to my internal quandary, Louis-san walked up to me and said, "Your hair is so pretty. Will you allow me to style it for you sometime?"

Ukyo-san was quick to explain that Louis-san is a hairstylist. It didn't really bother me, since I couldn't stop staring at Hikaru-san, trying to determine if she was a man or woman.

Noticing my stare, Hikaru-san turned to me and said, "Something on my face, imouto-san?"

"Ah, no." For a moment, I considered just asking if Hikaru-san was a man or woman, but I thought that would be too rude for our first meeting.

To shake off the nagging curiosity I felt, I turned to Iori-san to introduce myself and try to form a conversation with the person who seemed closest to me in age. He was kind, and I found out that he was a third-year in high school, which meant that he would be graduating this year too.

But the quiet didn't last long, as Tsubaki-san, Azusa-san and Wataru-chan burst through the door. I had meant to ask where they were, but got distracted by all the new faces and the questions of Hikaru-san's biological gender. Then, their presence became even more important to me as the greeted her as "Hikaru-nii".

_That honorific is only used for older brothers, so does that mean that I was right? But, they could just as easily be calling her "Hikaru-nee". It's only one syllable off and I don't want to offend Hikaru-san by jumping to conclusions that are completely wrong. Still, this is getting really annoying._

Seeming to sense my questions, Ukyo-san turned to me and apologized before saying, "Hikaru is actually the fourth son of our family. Despite the way that he is dressed, he is a man through and through."

"You mean that I was right?!" I said this much louder than I had intended, but it was the answer to a question that had been nagging me practically since I had come to the hotel.

They all looked shocked, either by my outburst or my saying that I already knew that Hikaru-san was a man.

Hikaru-san answered that for me quickly, asking, "You could tell that I am a man?"

"Um, kinda. I wanted to ask, but I didn't think it would be a good idea if I was wrong about that, and I didn't want to offend you", I managed to stutter out while my cheeks flamed.

"How could you tell?"

"I'm not really sure. But I guess, it's your aura. You felt kind of masculine and your chest is flat. But that isn't real proof, so I didn't want to risk offending you by asking."

Hikaru-san looked surprised by this revelation, and for a little while, I was worried that I might have said something wrong anyway, but then the others quickly drew me in for more conversation, and our time together passed pleasantly with easy conversation.

It wasn't the same as knowing everything about them, but it was the start of a connection to this strange, loud, caring family.


	23. Chapter 23

After I had finally sorted out the issue of Hikaru-san's biological gender, I talked with the newly arrived brothers for several hours.

They decided that Masaomi-san, Ukyo-san and Louis-san would go to the funeral with me if I wanted them to. Initially, I was against this idea, but after thinking about it, I did want Mom to know that I would be okay, and I began to think that she really would have liked the Asahinas and this could be a chance for her to meet them in a sense.

Besides, it would be nice to have family with me.

Before I left, I realized that they might be staying here for some time and that if they did, the hotel cost would rapidly grow. I didn't want them to have to pay so much because of me, so I asked Masaomi-san, "If you would like to, there are some guest bedrooms in my house."

He looked surprised by my offer, but asked if I would mind them staying with me for a little while.

"Of course not. You all seem kind. But I should warn you that it will be a little crowded. If that's okay with you then I can clean out the junk I've been keeping in the extra rooms so that you can use them."

And so, the same day that Mom's funeral was held, the Asahina brothers moved into my house. While they got settled, I began to work on my schoolwork. I had been taking time off after Mom's death, and now that time was coming back to bite me in the ass.

Quickly, my mind began to wander to the funeral. Like I had thought, my brothers presence was a matter of discussion, but it also comforted me. Of course, Phoebe saw them and when she found out that they would be moving in with me, even temporarily, she was furious. It was hard to get her to give up the inquisition, but I think that Masaomi-san was the one who really convinced her to drop it for the moment.

" _You have been a good friend to Kali-san and I can tell that you care deeply for each other. I hope that you will learn to accept us as a part of her life and that you will continue to stay by her side as you have in the past."_

If Masaomi-san hadn't said those words, I'm fairly certain that Phoebe would have blown off her own schoolwork to continue to interrogate all of the brothers. I knew better than to think that she was completely finished, but her interrogation had been put on hold for long enough for the brothers to settle into my home.

Like I had thought that it would be, it was a tight fit to get all of them into the house. But they said that it was still better than living in the hotel. And I was glad that they were here.

Since Mom had died, Phoebe had stayed with me when she was able to, but she still had her own life and she had to leave at least to get more of her own clothes. As a result, my house had become quiet. Of course, it had always been a little quiet, since Mom and I had lived alone and she was often at work, but this quiet was different. Probably because I knew that the silence wouldn't be broken by Mom walking through the door complaining about some sexist comment someone had made at work or asking me to make a specific meal for dinner because she was getting some strange craving.

That knowledge had made the silence that had never really bother me before feel oppressive. But now that the Asahinas had temporarily moved in, I could hear them moving throughout the house, arguing, talking, just living their lives. It was louder than it had ever been before and hearing so many masculine voices when it had only been Mom and I for so long, felt odd, but at the same time, I knew that they wouldn't let me be lonely and I would be able to adjust to their presence in time.

I finally wasn't alone, but surrounded by people who would soon become my family.


	24. Chapter 24

After I had managed to get through a few essays for the time that I had missed in school, I decided that it was time to take a break to get some tea. As I went to the kitchen, I ran into Ukyo-san and Masaomi-san sitting at the kitchen table talking to each other.

When he saw me, he looked surprised and asked, "What are you still doing up?"

"I'm not supposed to go back to school for a few more days, but I wanted to get a start on all of the work that I missed."

As the words left my mouth, I saw Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san look at each other before Masaomi-san said, "Actually we wanted to talk about that with you Kali-san."

Once I had sat down with them at the table, he continued.

"I know that you don't know any of us brothers very well, and I understand that you have built a life here. However, you have told us that your mother doesn't have any living relatives for you to live with and that you don't want to move in with your friend. With both of these options out of the picture, and as I don't believe that you should live by yourself, I would like you to consider the possibility of moving to Japan to live with all of us. As I have said, we don't know each other well, but we will be family soon, and we all care about you."

I could tell that he wanted to continue, probably to try to give more arguments for me to move in with them, but I cut him off. I had already made my decision, and while I hadn't expected it to come up so soon, I wasn't going to hesitate. Mom had always hated those who wasted their time hesitating because of stupid things.

"Ok."

Both of them looked shocked by my simple statement, so I decided that I should elaborate.

"I had worried about where I would live for a little while, and I came up with several ideas, but I knew that the most likely to happen would be that I would end up living with you. After our first meeting, I dismissed this idea as reprehensible, but now I don't dislike the idea, though it will be a large change to move back to Japan after so many years."

"Well, that's a very mature attitude. We were expecting to have to work to convince you that this would be the best option. Now that it has been decided, I can go to your mother's lawyer tomorrow and have your guardianship transferred to Masaomi-nii-san for the time being. Once we get to Japan, we would of course transfer it to Rintarou-san as he is your father, but it will be easier for someone who is here to be responsible for your welfare for the time being.

"Once that is done, we can go to your school and have you withdrawn. After that, you would need to pack everything that you would take with you and prepare this house to be vacant for some time," Ukyo-san finished.

As I accepted this plan, Masaomi-san informed me that the brothers would only be able to stay in the US for another two days. Once I heard this, I asked, "Then, would it be okay with you if I took another few days after that in order to pack everything and say goodbye?"

They both looked a little hesitant before Ukyo-san replied, "It is possible for you to travel alone, but are you sure that you want that?"

"It is fine, I don't mind. It will only be for a few days and I really do need more than two days in order to prepare for the move. Besides, Phoebe wouldn't let me be alone for very long anyway."

They still looked slightly concerned, but they eventually agreed.

The next day, my imminent move to Japan was made real when I was withdrawn from school. Many of the other students and my teachers said that they hoped that I would have an easy transition to my new life.

But what really made it real was how I finally emptied out my locker. At the end of every school year, I had emptied it out of course, but at those times, I could always feel the heat and humidity that summer was bringing, and I could see all of the other shockingly empty lockers. But this time, mine was the only one without anything in it, and as I looked at its tiny confines, I realized that this was the last time I would see it. I wouldn't be coming back in a few months to refill it. It wasn't my locker anymore. In a few months, someone else would come and fill it with their own things.

I had always known that this would happen someday, but I had assumed that I still had time, and that it would be a realization that I would reach along with all of the other people in my class.

I was the only one changing their lives right now.

But, as I felt Kaname-san's hand on my shoulder and Phoebe's hand in mine, I also realized that I wouldn't be the only one going through a change. Phoebe would no longer have me right next to her, and the Asahina brothers would have a stranger among their ranks.

They might not have to deal with as many changes as I did, but they would experience change as well, and they would support me, just as I would help all of them.

That is what families do after all, whether they are old or new members.


	25. Chapter 25

On the day that the Asahina brothers left my house, Phoebe came over to help me pack all of my things. When she got there, I could tell that she was upset, and I had known her long enough to know that it was better to just wait for her to come out and say it.

In the past when I had tried to get her to talk about things when she wasn't ready, she had always just shut down and refused to talk about them. Luckily, though somewhat paradoxical, Phoebe had never been one to bottle up her emotions unless she was pushed to let them out. In time, she would always tell me what was on her mind if I just stayed quiet and waited for her to begin talking.

True to her pattern, Phoebe and I spent an hour boxing up all of clothes with the only discussion between the two of us being whether or not I wanted to keep a certain shirt, or if a pair of shoes still fit me or not. I hadn't actually cleaned out my closet in years so there were a lot of clothes that I didn't like anymore or which no longer fit me.

After we had been at this for almost an hour, Phoebe finally spoke up.

"You don't know these people. You haven't seen your father in years with the exception of a **maybe** thirty minute long meeting and you've only known these Asahinas for less than a month. And you really want to move to a different country for them?"

"I'm not doing this for any of them," I stated calmly.

Phoebe looked angry at my response. "Then who are you doing this for? Your father? **He** left **you**. You don't owe him anything."

Phoebe would have gone into a full-on rant about why I shouldn't move to Japan, but I cut her off. "I'm doing this for Mom."

Phoebe looked shocked by this statement, and I took that as a chance to explain to her about why I was moving to Japan, a fuller explanation than the one that I gave to Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san. It wasn't that I had lied to them, but I hadn't told them all of my reasons for moving in with them.

"You know that Mom never really blamed him for cheating. When he broke off all contact, yeah, she got mad for a while. But did you ever notice that she wasn't really angry? Not at the core. Me, I was sad and cried and eventually just forgot about him. Mom never did that, but she also never hated him. When he abandoned me, she was angry, but once that faded, she was disappointed in him, and by the fact that I would never get a chance to really know my father. She never hated him, she wanted me to know him. Now he's back in my life, and I have a chance to make her wish come true. I'm not going to waste it."

"But are you sure that this is what you want? You loved your mother, and I know that she shared the feeling. You want to obey her, but she's dead. What she'd really want is for you to be happy."

"I know. And I'm not sure if what I'm doing will make that happen. But there are too many memories here, Phoebe. I don't want to give up those memories, but the pain is too fresh now. I need to leave. And I could live with you, but that won't stop me from seeing this house and the memories that it represents."

I sorted out my feelings days ago, but saying them out loud like this made me confront just how real those feelings were, and I had to pause for a moment before I continued in a much softer voice.

"I love you, Phoebe, you know that. But if I stayed here, I'd never be able to get over Mom's death. Yeah, I'd get better, but I'd still see her ghost everywhere I went, and people would always talk to me. They'd keep me inside of a box, Phoebe. The box where I'm just my mother's daughter, and if I live like that, I'll never escape it. I'll never learn to stand on my own two feet, be able to make my own choices. I'll always remember Mom and love her, but I need to get away from that box in order to become a person that she would have been proud of instead of just a person who only followed her wishes, and that is what the Asahinas are offering me. They are giving me a way to get away from this town, and to learn who I am without being kept inside some tiny box of what people expect from an orphan. And they won't keep me in that box. I know you don't trust them, but they are good people, Phoebe. I think I can learn to love them, and I know that they will help me. Just like I hope that you will."

I spoke my last sentence in a whisper, but I could tell that Phoebe heard me, by the small smile that appeared on her face, though she looked as though she was about to cry, and by the tight hug that she gave me.

"You're wrong, you know. By doing this, you have already shown your Mom that you are your own person, no matter what you think."

With those words, Phoebe stood up straighter, tossed her hair back and told me, "Come on, these boxes aren't going to pack themselves, and you do have a flight to catch in a week."

After Phoebe and I had our discussion, the rest of the week passed in a flurry of packing, remembering and goodbyes. There were so many places that I felt that I had to visit before I left and many people who I wanted to say goodbye to.

Out of all of them, Phoebe was the last. While we had settled this matter earlier, it was hard to let go of her at the airport. We held each other for the longest time, and promised to email each other every day, and to call on every holiday and birthday. Finally, we had to let each other go before I missed my flight.

As the plane took off, I looked out the window and realized that I felt hopeful. I didn't feel like this was goodbye for good, and I remembered my thought earlier that I would like to go back to Mom's house one day with a family of my own, and I knew that this wasn't the last time that I would see Phoebe or this country. Not by a long shot.

Despite this knowledge, I wrote many poems about the pain of leaving, even for a short while. Luckily, this took my mind off things enough so that when we arrived in Japan, I had barely registered the passage of time.

But now that I'm here, it's time to become a part of my new family. Here's hoping it's easy.


	26. Chapter 26

Once I left the airport, I began to regret my decision to get to the Asahinas' house on my own. Masaomi-san had offered to send someone to pick me up, but I hadn't wanted to bother them and had said that I could get there myself.

Big mistake. I'd never been that great with directions, and, while I had been bored in a city, I'd been living in a small town for almost a decade. And that had messed up my ability to understand street signs and and left me unprepared for the general insanity of the city.

My town had always been alive, that was for sure. You could always hear cars passing by on the highway or kids playing outside. But the city was different. Here, there were more cars and people pushed each other aside. Sure that had happened in my town too, but back home there had also been amicable discussions happening.

All of the noise confused me, and since I was already in a strange place with only a crudely drawn map, I got lost.

I wandered around for about an hour, trying to get back on track. But just when I was about to admit defeat and call one of the brothers for help, I heard someone call out to me.

Yeah, I probably should have run away instead of responding, but we were already on a busy street. Even if he was a kidnapper, I could just scream and get attention from all of the people surrounding us.

Besides, the way that I saw it, I was already lost. How much more trouble could the tall redhead I saw coming towards me possibly cause?

I meant to ask him for directions, but I was distracted as I saw the sun reflect off of his hair. It was such a bright red color. Had he dyed it that color?

"Uh, hey. Do you need some kind of help or something?"

I was distracted from my musings about the boy's hair color when I realised that he was talking to me. I briefly considered lying, but it's not like asking for directions could hurt when I was already so lost.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to move to a new house today. The only thing is that my, er, brother only gave me a map with some rough directions on it and I got lost."

Seemingly not noticing my stumbling over the word "brother", he asked me where I was going. Seeing as how I was already pretty much screwed already, and since he seemed to have a kind of straight-laced aura anyway, I told him the name of the street that I was moving onto.

"Oh, I can actually take you there. I live on that street. Hey, don't worry. Our neighbors moved out recently, I can show you the for-sale sign when we get there. Ah, sorry I'm not explaining this very well, am I?"

I couldn't help but let a giggle escape me as I listened to him talk. I might have thought that he could be dangerous at first, but he had such an adorably flustered expression on his face that I couldn't help but begin to trust him, especially as he got so flustered trying to help me.

"I'm Kali. And you are?"

Seeing his surprise at my words, I explained myself to him quickly, "Well, if you're going to walk me home, then I think that I should at least know your name, if only so I can thank you later."

Yeah, I was flirting a little, but his expressions were pretty interesting. Really, when he finally told me that his name was Yuusuke, his face turned so red I almost thought that he was going to pass out.

As we walked together, I could see that my assumption was correct. He was pretty straight-laced, but underneath it all, he was a pretty nice guy. After a few minutes of me talking at him, he was able to talk back to me with much more ease. I was glad that I'd be living near such an interesting guy, I thought he'd be a good friend to have. After all, not many people would go out of their way to help a stranger in a city as big as this.

This move to Japan was already looking better than I had expected it to be.


	27. Chapter 27

As Yuusuke-kun and I walked together, I began to become excited at the prospect of living in Japan.  While I had known that I would be living here, I hadn’t really felt much excitement over it.  I’d been happy that I was going to have a family again, and I was glad that I wouldn’t be living alone, but I hadn’t been very excited about leaving my home and Phoebe.

Sure, I had known that it would happen eventually.  I’d go to college, or move out after college, and then I wouldn’t see Phoebe as often, or be able to walk around my hometown every day like I’ve been doing for the last seven years.

But it should have happened differently.  Mom should have helped me pack up and gone with me to see my new home.  She should have teased me about how I was growing up.  She should’ve been at home, and telling me that I could visit anytime I wanted.

But she wasn’t.

I couldn’t help but slow to a stop as this realisation hit me.  After a moment, Yuusuke-kun seemed to realise that I was no longer next to him and came towards me, but at this point I couldn’t seem to stop the tears that had begun to form when I thought about my mother.

“Ah, hey, wait, don’t cry.  Didn’t I say that I wouldn’t do anything to you?” Yuusuke-kun sounded so panicked about scaring me that I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh that, somehow, only made the tears fall faster.  After another moment of staring at me, Yuusuke-kun tentatively reached forward to wrap his arms around my shoulders.  “This isn’t about you being lost and with a total stranger, is it?”

Unable to speak at this point, I just nodded my head slightly against where it was lying on his shoulder.  Yuusuke-kun slowly started to walk backwards, steering me towards the wall on the side of the streets, muttering, “People have no sense of what private matters are,” as I felt him glare at the people who were staring at us as they walked by.

After a few more moments, I finally ran out of tears, but I couldn’t bring myself to move away from Yuusuke-kun.  Instead I settled for quietly saying into his neck, “I’m sorry that you had to do this.  I shouldn-”

“That’s not true at all,” Yuusuke-kun suddenly blurted out.  I was so shocked by the shy guy I had known suddenly cutting me off that I finally lifted my head.  Seeing the hideous sight that I was sure was my face, Yuusuke-kun began to lead me to a park where I could wash my face in the faucets.

By the time I finished, Yuusuke-kun was handing me an iced tea that he had gotten from a vending machine.  “I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I thought you might be thirsty after, y’know.”

Giggling at the return of the awkward Yuusuke-kun I had come to know, I gestured towards a bench and said, “I know that I’ve already caused you a lot of trouble, but do you mind if we just sit here for a little while?”

As we sat down, Yuusuke-kun disagreed with me.  “You’re wrong, you know.”  Surprised, I looked at him, and he blushed red again.  “Ah, well, this isn’t exactly how I expected my day to go, but it’s not that bad.  But I was talking about earlier.”

Scratching the back of his head, he said, “I know that you didn’t want to cry earlier, but you shouldn’t apologise for it.  I mean, sometimes you’ve gotta let your emotions out, right?  So I don’t really mind it that you cried in front of me.  Ah, I mean, you didn’t have to cry, but it’s okay that you did.  You know, since it made you-”

Yuusuke-kun seemed shocked when I started laughing at his clumsy attempt to cheer me up.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed.  But thank you, I think that I needed to hear that, and you’re right, crying did make me feel a little better.”  I hesitated for a moment before admitting, “I’m glad that you decided to help me, you being here makes it a bit easier to move on.”

“Uh, Kali-san, I don’t mean to offend you, but why were you crying earlier.  I mean, you don’t need to tell me, it’s just that I thought it might help a little,” Yuusuke-kun hastily added.

I sighed, “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”  I looked at him for a moment before saying, “That is, if you don’t mind listening, it’s not the happiest story.”

“Well, if it was, you wouldn’t have been crying, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”  I paused for a moment, considering whether or not I was really going to tell this boy who I had only known for a little more than an hour about my life.  Sighing, I realised that I probably needed a shrink if I was even considering doing this, before realising that while it wasn’t the smartest move, I really needed to let it out.  I guess it’s true when they say that it’s easier to talk to a stranger than it is to talk to a friend.  Or at least that’s how it seems to be right now.

Taking a deep breath, I began to tell Yuusuke-kun everything.  “My mother died a few weeks ago.  At the time, I was okay.  I didn’t really feel anything about it.  I guess that’s what they call shock, y’know.  But as time went on, it got harder to cling to that . . . nothingness I felt.  And then my father showed up.  I hadn’t seen him since he and my mother divorced, and all of a sudden he was telling me that he was getting remarried and that he wanted me to meet my new family.

“I don’t know, maybe it was seeing him or maybe it was because I felt like he was replacing Mom when we hadn’t even buried her yet, but that dam that was holding back my emotions just broke.  After I calmed down, I realised that I didn’t really have anywhere to go except for with him.

“So I tried to deal with it.  To accept that I’m going to have a new family.  But while I was walking with you, it really hit me that I was going to a new home where Mom wouldn’t be.  That she wouldn’t be there to drop me off at school on my first day.  That she wouldn’t take me on tours of college campuses or help me pack up when I moved out.  And I just couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“I mean, I knew that she was gone.  I know that I’ll never see her again.  I know that I have to live with these people.  But it’s like I can’t accept it, like I’ll never be able to really understand she’s gone and I’m gonna be forced to stay with these people for a while, and I just-”  I was broken from my rant when Yuusuke-kun held out the handkerchief that I had used earlier to wipe my face.  It was at that moment that I realised I was crying again.

I gave him a watery smile before quietly admitting, “I’ve met some of my new family, and they seem like great people.  I know that they’ll treat me well.  But somehow knowing that just makes things harder, as though if I accept their kindness I’ll really be letting them replace Mom, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to really let them become my family because of that.”

Yuusuke-kun seemed to take a moment to think about what I had said before he said gently, “Well, does it really have to be right now?”  At my shocked look, he continued, “I know that these people are legally gonna be your family soon, but that doesn’t mean that you really know them yet.  How can you be family to people that you’ve never met?  So why don’t you take you time?  After all, things are hard enough with your mother gone, so you shouldn’t force yourself to accept these people.  Just take it day by day and let yourself heal before you worry about your new family.  If they’re really like you say they are, then they’ll give you time.”

After he finished, I couldn’t help myself from clinging to him, sobbing for the second time today.  “Wait, I didn’t mean to-”

Between sobs I managed to say, “Thank you, Yuusuke-kun.”

After hearing his words, I began to feel the part of me that had broken when Mom died, slowly start to heal.  Thank God I had met Yuusuke-kun today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so it's been a while. But I've managed to figure out an updating schedule that should work until i go back to school, in which case I'll probably end up changing it a bit. But for now, I'll be updating this story every Monday (I fell asleep yesterday before posting).


	28. Chapter 28

By the time that I calmed down, the day was mostly over.  It wasn’t quite night yet, but evening was beginning to show its face.  As I watched the blue sky slowly to different shades of red, I couldn’t help but comment on it.

“No matter what happens, the sky will still get dark, and then daylight will come again.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess that’s true,” Yuusuke-kun stuttered out, obviously trying to figure out what I was saying.

I couldn’t help but giggle at the surprise on his face.  He was so easy to throw off, and I’d bet he’d be even more interesting to tease, not that I had tried that just yet.  Seeing his confusion growing, I nostalgically explained, “It’s something that my mother used to say whenever something bad happened.  She’d always say that because she said that people get too wrapped up in our own problems and think that the world will come to its end if they aren’t fixed, but that if they’d just look up at the sky, they’d realise how very small their problems usually are, as far as the world is concerned.”

Yuusuke-kun smiled at me gently, “That’s a good saying, and a good thing to remember.”

In return, I smiled shyly back at him, still a little embarrassed at having broken down in front of a near stranger, regardless of how good of a friend it seemed like he was destined to become.

Shortly after, Yuusuke-kun began to lead me towards the house again and I realised aloud, “My stepbrothers will probably be really worried.”

“Oh?”

“Mm, yeah.  I told them that I’d walk by myself and I’d try to get their early, and now it’s almost nighttime.  I hope they aren’t worried.”

“Eh, I don’t think you really have to worry about that stuff.  After all, if they were really worried, they always could’ve called your cell phone, right?”

“Oh yeah, I guess they could have.  I mean, they all have my number, I think.”

“You think?” Yuusuke-kun asked me skeptically.

“Ah, not all of the could get off of work to come see me, so some of them I haven’t met yet.”

Yuusuke-kun simply grunted his agreement, before gesturing ahead of us.  “Our street is right up there.”

I could feel the excitement of my move coming back to me when he said those words, though that, sadly, also brought the anxiety back too.  I mean, sure, I’ve met most of them, but what about the ones that I haven’t met yet?  Would they be okay with me?  Or did they not like the idea of a stranger living with them?

Yuusuke-kun seemed to sense the turn that my thoughts had taken and took hold of one of my hands.  Blushing almost the same shade of red as his hair, he began to lead me forward, saying, “Don’t worry about it so much.  Whether or not they accept you, just take it one day at a time, so don’t start worrying about tomorrow just yet.”

Amused that the guy who blushes just from holding a girl’s hand is trying to tell me that I shouldn’t be worried, I squeezed his hand softly before saying, “You definitely aren’t the person who is supposed to be saying that, but thank you for the comfort.”

As we walked down the street, I could see the moving truck in front of what I assumed was my new home and as we almost walked past it, I could see Masaomi-san standing next to the truck, talking with a mover before they left.  When he caught sight of us, he said, “Oh, I’m glad you good make it Kali-san, though I am surprised that you’re with Yuusuke.  Did you two meet on the way?”

As I felt surprise flair up inside me at Masaomi-san apparently knowing Yuusuke-kun, I rationalised it that Yuusuke-kun had said that they were neighbors, though I did wonder how they were so close that Masaomi-san would call him without any honorifics.  I may not have been in Japan for a while, but somehow I doubted that things had changed that much since I had left.

Before I could ask him about it, Yuusuke-kun said in surprise, “Wait a minute, Masa-nii, how do you know Kali-san?”

“Did you just say Masa-nii, Yuusuke-kun?” I blurted out, startled.

Masaomi-san laughed before asking, “I suppose that you two didn’t properly introduce yourselves to each other?  Then I guess that I should explain.  Kali-san, this is Yuusuke, the eleventh son of the Asahina family, and Yuusuke, this is Kali-san, Rintarou-san’s daughter and our new stepsister.  She’s going to be living with us from now on.”

_ Well, I did know that I hadn’t met all the brothers, and this does explain why we both live on the same street.  But what are the odds of the two of us just randomly meeting on the street like that?  It sounds like a part in some anime or game.  The odds are high enough though, I guess _ , I concluded as I saw the surprise that covered Yuusuke-kun’s whole face.  The guy really does wear his heart on his sleeve.

The surprised silence between the two of us, and Masaomi-san’s amused one, was broken when Wataru-chan came running out towards us, calling, “Is Onee-chan here yet?”

As I collected myself enough to not stumble back when Wataru-chan all but tackled me into a hug when he saw me, I heard Yuusuke-kun mumble something and walk ahead.  I was worried for a few seconds about possibly losing someone who looked like they could be a good friend before I was quickly distracted by Wataru-chan telling me about all the things that he wanted me to do with him, not even stopping when Masaomi-san took ahold of both of us to lead us into the . . . is that a house or an apartment complex?

I could have sworn that they said that they lived in a house, but maybe my Japanese had gotten rusty after so many years.  Either way, I could tell that things would definitely be interesting around this ridiculously large, and strange family.


End file.
